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Glutamate news
Kyoto, Japan.
3 Michelin Star Fat Duck Restaurant's Heston Blumenthal
joins a ground breaking Master Class to explore opportunities for
culinary innovation with Japanese chefs.
This past week-end saw a gathering of the world's
leading thinkers, in the field of molecular gastronomy, for a
Master Class designed to introduce the concept to Japan and to explore
the opportunities which greater understanding of food and taste will
provide in the future.
While molecular gastronomy may not be the easiest term to understand,
it accurately describes how some of the world's leading chefs are using science
to create new food experiences, taste sensations and flavour combinations based
on real understanding of how food, cooking and taste work at a molecular level.
The Master Class sessions were given by chefs Yoshihiro Murata (Kikunoi
restaurant, Kyoto, Japan) and Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck restaurant, Bray,
Berkshire) and scientists Gary Beauchamp and Edmund Rolls, provoking a lively
discussion facilitated by Professor Kathy Sykes.
The event, a first for Japan, drew an international audience of specialists in
the science of taste perception, dietary culture, taste and flavour chemistry,
sensory analysis and food technology together with Japanese chefs including
internationally renowned Nobu (Nobuyuki Matsuhisa). The programme provided the
opportunity to explore discoveries and observations, both scientific and practical,
with both Murata and Blumenthal giving examples of how their questioning of traditional
approaches to cooking and kitchen lore has provided opportunities to change the
way they cook food and deliver taste experiences. It also highlighted the
importance of umami, our fifth taste, and its role in giving food, especially the
cuisine of Japan, its unique character. Commenting on the growing awareness of the
umami taste experience, Nobu said, "as people come to appreciate umami, both the taste
and the quality of food will advance and people will become more healthy".
And the learning experience afforded by the Master Class was not all one way. This
rather different culture seems to have captured Heston Blumenthal's imagination
"this is my first trip to Japan and it's too short.... this has been really
inspirational for me". It will be interesting to see how the inspiration translates
into new sensations on the menu at The Fat Duck Restaurant.
Information for editors:
Chefs:
Heston Blumenthal: The Fat Duck Restaurant, Bray, UK was awarded a third
Michelin star in 2004, just one of the many awards this young chef is piling up for
his truly ingenious approach to food.
Yoshihiro Murata: President and Chief Chef at the temple of Kyoto cuisine
Kikunoi. Murata-san is keenly interested in the science underpinning cooking
and is one of the culinary leaders at the forefront of introducing traditional
Japanese cuisine, especially the Kaiseki cuisine of Kyoto, to the world.
Scientists:
Gary Beauchamp Ph.D.: Gary is a director of Monell Chemical Senses Center in
Philadelphia, which has a team of more than 100 world-renowned experts in sensory
science. An excellent cook himself, he is one of the leaders in the development of
scientific understanding of umami taste.
Edmund Rolls D.Sc.: Edmund's research at Oxford University explores learning,
memory, emotion, pleasure, smell and taste, including the understanding of how
the brain responds to complex tastes. Like Gary, Edmund has been at the
forefront of the development of the understanding of umami in the field of
neuroscience and taste physiology.
Master of Ceremonies:
Professor Kathy Sykes Ph.D.: Kathy, who holds the Collier Chair in Public
Engagement in Science & Technology at Bristol University, has a mission to
facilitate the public understanding of science and the human side of scientists!
She is a well-known communicator and broadcaster, and one of the team for the
popular Rough Science programme now broadcast worldwide by the BBC.
Umami Information Center was set up in 1982 with the purpose of increasing
awareness of, and disseminating information about, umami, our fifth taste
with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. The Umami Information Center is funded
by the Umami Manufacturers Association of Japan.
For further information, including high resolution photographs, please
call Ailbhe Fallon on 0044 207 828 1448.
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